The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) recently approved a plan to seize 60.06 dunums of Palestinian land in Jayyous town in the Qalqilya governorate in order to establish a new settlement neighborhood in favor of the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Zufim.
In a statement on Friday the Bethlehem-based Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ) pointed out that the plan includes the construction of 92 new settlement housing units on the town’s lands.
The occupation authorities are considering changing the land from agricultural category to an ‘urban and built-up’ category which includes “residential commercial and industrial” facilities the statement clarified.
According to ARIJ analysis the new Israeli settlement plan targets Palestinian lands allocated by the IOA for future expansion of existing Jewish-only settlements.
ARIJ pointed out that the IOA deliberately neglects Palestinian plans to build in Area C.
The vast majority of Palestinian applications for Israeli building permits in Area C are rejected by the IOA on the grounds that the relevant area has not been zoned for construction.
Consequently it is virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits placing the structures outside the planned areas at risk of demolition.
Palestinian estimates indicate there are about 650000 settlers living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West Bank including in Occupied Jerusalem.
International law considers all settlement construction in the West Bank illegal.
